I stumbled across these services while browsing around tech blogs. True enough, they work and setting them up are really simple. Tweaking your network connection with OpenDNS alone is sufficient to help speed up the Internet experience. With FastCache, you save several extra seconds everytime you browse your favourite sites. It’s not significant, but the software is so small and hardly a memory eater, you would forget it’s there.

Here are the steps to set up OpenDNS and FastCache on your computer (and network if you’re on one). The following guide is based on my personal experience setting up on a WinXP machine, connected to a home wired router. Other setups should look here instead.

1. Go to Control Panel and open up your Network Connection. Depending on your machine, you may have several connection options available. Choose your default or current connection (i.e. the one that connects you to the router/modem).
2. On the Status window, click on Properties button.
3. Select Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and click Properties button again.
4. Choose the radio button Use the following DNS server addresses and type in the following:
   • If you plan on installing FastCache as well, enter the address 127.0.0.1 to the Preferred DNS server and click the OK button.
   • If you just wish to setup OpenDNS alone, enter the addresses 208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220 to the Preferred and Alternate DNS server respectively. Click the OK button to save your settings. Note: If you are installing FastCache later with this settings, it will not work!
5. If you are setting up OpenDNS alone, then you’re done! Fire up your web browser and go to http://welcome.opendns.com. If everything is right, you should be greeted by a Welcome to OpenDNS message. Test your settings by going through the actions list in the welcome page. Addtional preferences can be set here. Continue to the next step if you plan to install FastCache. Otherwise, the guide stops here.
6. The following steps are intended if you want to install FastCache on your machine. Download the FastCache installer to your machine (somewhere you can remember locating).
7. Fire up the installation process by double-clicking the setup file. Accept all default values until completion.
8. Once the installation is completed, you will notice a new icon on the right hand side of your taskbar (or tray, where the time is). Right-click on the icon and click on Config on the menu.
9. Enter the following to the Configuration screen:
   • Auto start: Checked
   • Auto configure: Unchecked (only applies to Win98 machines)
   • Use tandem requests: Checked (alternate the DNS servers when making requests)
   • Enable logging: Unchecked (if you know what is it for, you can check this)
   • Animate tray icon: Checked (easier recognition to know it’s working)
   • Dialogs always on top: Unchecked (checked if you’re obsessed with statistics)
   • Minimum timeout (days): 7 (default)
   • Maximum timeout (days): 0 (default)
   • Primary DNS IP: 208.67.222.222 (this and the one below are OpenDNS addresses)
   • Secondary DNS IP: 208.67.220.220
10. Click the OK button to save. You’re done! Test your FastCache settings by browsing to your favourite websites. The icon should animated with green colour if it’s working.

Your Internet browsing should be substantially faster with these setups. While OpenDNS does not speed up my daily downloads (such as torrents), but I experienced faster browsing to sluggish sites such as Friendster or Myspace. I see no security threats or any harm done to my machine so far. In fact with OpenDNS you should be more secure with its anti-phishing capability and auto-correcting of wrongly entered addresses.

Hope this guide helps and leaves you a happier Internet user. I know I am.

See the original article here.

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